Ti/TiN coating (3 μm) was prepared on
Cr12MoV steel substrate using unbalanced magnetron-sputtering technique. The microhardenss
of the coating was measured, while its fricition and wear behavior sliding against uncoated
Cr12MoV steel under an oil lubricated condition was evaluated using scratch instrument and an MM-200 test rig. The morphologies of the scrathched and worn surfaces of the coating and the steel substrate counterpart were observed using an optical microscope and scanning electron microscope. The experimental results show that
Ti/TiN coating could significantly enhance the surface hardnesss and load bearing capacity of the Cr12MoV steel, Moreover, the coating was well bonded to the steel substrate in the presence of the maganetron-sputtered Ti intermediate layer. Therefore, the Ti/TiN coating had much better wear-resistance than the Cr12MoV steel substrate. Namely, the wear rate of the Ti/TiN coating was only about 1/40 of that of the untreated steel substrate. At the same time, the scuffing and adhesion wear of the coating was significantly abated as compared to the steel substrate, which well conformed to the much better wear-resistance of the coating.